


Are You Sure You Love Me?

by AGJ1990



Series: Savannah Marie Winchester [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Sam and Jess are a bit dense in this, Sibling Tension, Uncle Dean Winchester, sensitive kid finally gets pushed to the limit, tween that feels misunderstood, uncle Dean and aunt Lisa set things straight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-03 19:44:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14003322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AGJ1990/pseuds/AGJ1990
Summary: Sequel to my story Do You Love Me? Five year old Morgan has turned into a brat, whose favorite thing to do is torture her older sister. When Savannah finally snaps, Jess and Sam make a string of mistakes that almost makes them lose Savannah's respect.





	Are You Sure You Love Me?

**Author's Note:**

> The characters of Supernatural do not belong to me. The original characters of Morgan and Savannah Winchester does.

“Sissy!”

            Savannah fought the urge to shout back ‘WHAT?’. It was the first day of summer, and Savannah was trying to enjoy it. She was sitting in the backyard, underneath the big tree out by the fence, reading the book she bought with her allowance last week. Or, rather, she was trying to enjoy it. If her little sister Morgan had her way, Savannah would have to do what she wanted, all day every day. Savannah loved Morgan, and played with her mostly whenever Morgan wanted her to. Savannah just didn’t want to right now. Savannah continued reading. She’d told Morgan no three times already. Maybe if Savannah ignored Morgan, she’d go away. No such luck. Morgan skipped up to Savannah at the tree and looked over her shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

 _What’s it look like? Skydiving?_ Savannah thought. “Reading.” “Why?” Morgan asked.

“Because I like to read.”

“Reading’s stupid.” Morgan said. “Play with me.”  

            Savannah glared at Morgan. Morgan liked to call anything that took Savannah’s attention away from her ‘stupid’, and it hurt Savannah’s feelings. She’d tried to talk to her parents about it, but they’d just told her to be patient. That Morgan didn’t know any better. But the first time Savannah had gotten impatient with it, and told Morgan that what she wanted to do was stupid, both her parents had yelled at her for it. Savannah turned her back to Morgan, trying to hide her tears that threatened to spill over.

“Leave me alone, Morgan.”

“No. Play with me.” Morgan insisted, walking around to where she knew her sister could see her.

“I said no, Morgan. Leave me alone.” Savannah repeated. “I’ll play with you later.”

            Inside the kitchen, Jess was trying to decide what to make for dinner. She’d sent a very curious Morgan outside to play with her sister so she could have a few minutes of peace. Jess loved both kids dearly, but they were driving her crazy lately. Savannah wanted to spend more and more time alone, reading and exploring things for herself. Morgan didn’t seem to know what to do with herself when asked to play alone. Jess knew she put a lot on Savannah by asking her to constantly entertain Morgan, but she planned to make it up to her someway. Jess suddenly realized she hadn’t actually told Savannah she needed her to watch Morgan. Jess headed to the backdoor, planning to stick her head out and ask Savannah to give her twenty minutes alone, when she heard a crack and Morgan let out an almighty scream.

            Jess flung open the back door and looked around. She saw Savannah standing on her feet, her fists clenched and looking angrier than Jess had ever seen her. Jess wondered what in the world could have attacked them to make her calm, quiet, shy daughter react like that. She assumed that Savannah had pulled Morgan to safety somewhere. Jess was frozen for a full five seconds. Until she saw it. Morgan was on the ground, crying, holding a hand to her eye. Jess realized that Savannah hadn’t protected Morgan from something; she had knocked Morgan down, hard, on the ground. After allowing herself to snap out of her shock, Jess ran out to check on Morgan, hoping that she was wrong about what had happened.

“Morgan? Are you okay, sweetie?” Jess got between Morgan and Savannah and got down on her knees. “Let mommy see.”

“Sissy hit me!” Morgan sobbed as she took her hand away from her eye.

Jess rounded on Savannah. “Savannah Marie! Is that true?”

“She deserved it!” Savannah protested.

“Go to your room. Right now.” Jess said. “Do not come out until I come talk to you.”

“Mommy…” Savannah said, wanting desperately to get her story out.

“Savannah, I have to fix your sister’s eye. Get to your room now.” Jess reached over and took the book out of Savannah’s hand. “And this stays with me until further notice.”

“Mommy…” Savannah tried again.

“If I say it one more time…” Jess started.

            Savannah didn’t give her a chance to finish. She turned on her heels and ran to her om. _Unbelievable,_ Savannah thought. _She’s mean to me, and she gets whatever she wants._ Savannah threw herself on her bed. Still angry, she took her stuffed animals on her bed and threw them as hard as she could towards the opposite wall. She had no doubt if her mother had seen that, she would have gotten yelled at all over again. But throwing the toys helped Savannah get her anger out, only to have it replaced by hurt. She picked up her toys and put them back on her bed, then picked up the one she slept with every night, a stuffed bunny named Carrot, and held him to her chest as she laid down. _Guess you’re my only friend now, Carrot._

            Savannah was nearly asleep when her mother walked in half an hour later. She still looked somewhat angry, but she seemed willing to talk. Savannah sat up, and waited for Jess to sit on the bed next to her. Her heart dropped when Jess stood next to the bed and crossed her arms over her chest. _Guess I don’t deserve to be taken care of like Morgan,_ Savannah thought, but didn’t say. Neither mom nor daughter seemed to want to start, so Jess did.

“Well? Do you have something to say?”

“Like what?” Savannah asked.

This proved to be the exact wrong thing to say. “Like what? How about why you punched your sister in the eye and knocked her to the ground. She’s _half_ your age _and_ size, Savannah! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?”

When she saw Savannah flinch, Jess closed her eyes and took a breath. She hadn’t meant to shout, but the memory of Morgan’s scream was making it hard to be sympathetic to Savannah. Jess finally did sit on Savannah’s bed, taking great care to control her tone of voice. Shouting or getting angry shut Savannah down.

“Listen, sweetie. Morgan told me she called you names outside. Because of that, if you apologize to her, I’ll let it go.” Jess said.

“What about Morgan?” Savannah asked.

“What _about_ Morgan?” Jess asked, an annoyed edge to her voice now.

“Doesn’t she have to apologize to me?” Savannah asked.

Jess couldn’t believe the nerve Savannah was showing. “No, Savannah, she doesn’t. Because she has a black eye. I think you punished her enough.”

“She didn’t give you the whole story.” Savannah said.

“Are you saying your sister’s lying to me?” Jess asked.

“Well, no, but…”

“No buts, Savannah. Your daddy and I both told you. If your sister teases you and it bothers you, walk away. Or talk to us. Ignore it. There is no excuse to hurt her.” Jess said. “Now, are you going to apologize to her?” Jess asked.

“No.” Savannah said. “Not unless she apologizes to me for what she said.”

“Fine.” Jess said, standing up. “You are not allowed out of this room until you do what I told you to do.”

“That’s not fair!” Savannah protested.

“Not fair? Do you realize how badly you could have hurt your sister today, Savannah? If you had hit her nose as hard as you hit her eye, you could have broken it. When your daddy gets home, I’m having him check her eye to make sure we don’t need to go to the emergency room. Don’t talk to me about fair, young lady. When you’re ready to apologize to your sister, call me.”

            Jess left the room quickly, angrier at Savannah than she’d ever been before. For Savannah, her mother leaving before she let Savannah get her side of the story out only proved one thing. Her mother thought of Morgan as a perfect kid who could do no wrong, and Savannah had no right to expect Morgan to treat her the way she was supposed to treat Morgan. Savannah looked at the clock. It was 4:00. Her father would be home soon, and all Savannah could hope for was that he would listen to her more than Jess did.

            Around 4:30, Savannah noticed that she could smell something coming from the kitchen. When she placed the smell, she smiled. Her mother was making her favorite dinner. Homemade chili. Maybe Jess hadn’t been as angry as she thought. Savannah was beginning to feel a little guilt for hurting Morgan. She did know it was wrong, but she just couldn’t put out of her mind what Savannah had said to her. Savannah heard her father walk in, and waited on him to come upstairs to her. Twenty minutes later, when she hadn’t seen him, she felt hurt again. Maybe Daddy was angry with her now, and he didn’t want to hear what she had to say either. Savannah felt her stomach rumble, and she looked up from her bed when her father walked in. “Hi, Daddy.” “Hi.” Sam said, standing in her doorway. “I heard you had an interesting day today.”

“I guess.” Savannah admitted. “Is Morgan okay?”

“She’s going to have a nasty black eye for a few days, but she should be fine.” Sam said. “Savannah, you know better.”

“I do, but…” “No. No excuses. Not when it comes to laying hands on your sister.” Sam said. “Are you planning to apologize?”

“Not until she does.” Savannah said, though with less determination than she’d had with her mother.

“Okay.” Sam said. “You’re staying in here then.”

“Fine.” Savannah said, defeated. Apparently daddy thought the same way mommy did.

“Here’s your dinner.” Sam said.

He picked up a plate that he’d set on the floor next to the door and placed it on her desk. Savannah was confused. She knew mommy had made chili, but on the plate Sam had left her was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a banana, and a handful of chips. It was the same thing she’d had for lunch.

“But mommy made chili. I smell it.”

“And if you come downstairs and apologize to Morgan, you can have some too.” Sam said. “But you’re restricted to this room until you do.”

“What does that have to do with dinner?” Savannah asked, her eyes watering as she felt her heart breaking. “Why can’t I eat the same thing you guys do?”

“Because you don’t get to do what you want when you’re being punished.” Sam said in an even tone, but one that clearly portrayed how disappointed he was in her. “You really messed up today, little girl. And until you make it right, you are in this room, except for the extra chores your mom and I have planned for you.” Sam pointed at the plate. “Eat your dinner. I’ll be back when we’re done for your first chore.”

            With that, Sam turned and left. Savannah thought about taking the plate off her desk and throwing it towards Sam, but she didn’t want to think about what might happen then. She reluctantly ate the ‘dinner’, though it barely filled her up. She heard Morgan giggle downstairs, and Sam and Jess talking. Savannah thought back to her day. From the moment she’d gotten up, Morgan had been pestering her to play with her. She’d gone outside to try and get away from Morgan, but Morgan had come out and pestered her again. Savannah had asked nicely to be left alone, but Morgan had continued to bother her. Even after Morgan had started calling her names, Savannah had been nice and told Morgan to leave her alone. She hadn’t yelled, and she’d been nice about it. Only when Morgan had said something to her that she just couldn’t let go had Savannah resorted to her fists. She hated herself for it, especially after hearing Morgan scream and cry like she had, but she’d thought at the time that she had to show Morgan that she was wrong.

            But maybe Morgan hadn’t been wrong. Mommy hadn’t listened to her when she’d tried to explain. Daddy had come back home, obviously heard about what happened, and hadn’t bothered to come and see her. Then mommy had made her favorite dinner and not only had she not been allowed to eat it, she still couldn’t eat with the family. Jess was angry and Sam was disappointed. Maybe Morgan hadn’t been wrong. Savannah had eaten a little over half of her dinner when these thoughts started turning, and her appetite went away.

            Savannah very quietly opened her bedroom door, and looked down each end of the hall. No one was coming. She snuck directly across the hall, where there was a small table that held one of the cordless phones in the house. She grabbed it and went back to her bedroom. She closed her door back, climbed on her bed, and dialed the familiar number as she prayed that her parents wouldn’t see what she was doing.

“Hello?”

“Hi, aunt Lisa.” Savannah said.

“Hey, sweetie! How are you?” Lisa said.

Savannah smiled; Lisa always seemed happy to hear from her. “What are you doing?”

“I’m making dinner.” Lisa said. She noticed that Savannah seemed upset. “Are you okay? You sound sad.” Savannah teared up. Finally someone could tell. “Aunt Lisa, will you and uncle Dean come pick me up?” “Pick you up? Why? Honey, what’s going on?”

“I promise I’ll tell you when you get here. Just please come get me.” Savannah begged. “I don’t think mommy and daddy want me anymore.” “What? I’m sure that’s not true. Where are your parents?” “Downstairs eating dinner.” Savannah said.

“Why aren’t you eating with them?” Lisa asked.

“Please just come get me.” Savannah said again. “I promise I’ll tell you everything, just please come get me.” Lisa sighed. “Okay, sweetie. Listen, uncle Dean’s still at work and my car’s in the shop. I have to wait for him. It might take an hour or so. Can you wait that long, or do I need to call your uncle to leave work?”

“I can wait.” Savannah said. She wanted to ask her to come now, but she was afraid if they got there and found it wasn’t an emergency, they’d be mad at her too. “Just come as soon as you can, please.” Lisa suddenly got scared, and hoped that what she was afraid of wasn’t true. “Savannah, are you hurt?” “No. I just need to get out of here.” Savannah said.

“Okay, honey. We’re coming. Just hang on, okay?” “Okay. Thank you, aunt Lisa.” Savannah said.

“You’re welcome, baby. I love you.”

Savannah felt two tears jump down her cheek at that; neither of her parents had said that to her all day. “I love you too.” She said, her voice cracking.

            Savannah pressed the button to hang up the phone, then walked back into the hallway to quickly hang it up. She felt better now that someone was coming. Uncle Dean and aunt Lisa never let Morgan get away with being mean to her when they stayed there, so maybe they’d help her here. She hoped they’d just take her home with them, but maybe they’d show mommy and daddy how unfair they were being. Just as Savannah got back to her room and sat at her desk, Sam walked back in. “Why didn’t you eat?” Sam asked.

“I’m not hungry.”

 _She’s feeling guilty_ , Sam thought. _Maybe she’ll finally apologize now._ “Come on.” “Where are we going?”

“The kitchen.” Sam said. “Come on. Bring your plate.”

            Savannah walked down with Sam to the kitchen, relieved to finally be out of her room, even though she was on the way to do extra chores. Sam didn’t say anything until they reached the kitchen. Savannah heard Jess in Morgan’s room, both of them laughing. Savannah could picture in her head Jess pulling Morgan’s pajama shirt above her head. The way she used to do with her. When they got to the kitchen, Sam pointed to the sink. All the dinner dishes were in there.

“You’re doing dishes tonight.” Sam said. “When you get done, you can tell me and your mom goodnight, then you go straight to bed.”

Savannah couldn’t look at him. “Okay, daddy.”

            Sam softened his expression when he realized how defeated Savannah sounded. He hated this as much as she did. He didn’t want to restrict her to her room; he wanted her to be with them. He didn’t want to deny her the treat of her favorite dinner; he’d wanted to see her smile. But apparently the tough love approach wasn’t working, so Sam decided to try a direct appeal to her emotions. “Savannah.” Sam took a kitchen chair and pulled Savannah to him. He felt hurt when she stiffened against his touch, but she didn’t pull away. “Peanut, look at me.”

The use of the nickname Sam had given her as a baby made Savannah look at her father with such pain that for a moment Sam thought about just giving up the struggle. Savannah had never done anything like this before, and Sam seriously doubted that she would again. But he knew he couldn’t just let it go. He wondered if she thought they were still angry with her and that was why she was crying. Later that night, Sam would wonder to himself why he didn’t just ask her that directly. Instead, he tried to be comforting and stern at the same time.

“I know your mommy and I are being tough with you. I know it’s hard. But we still love you, Peanut. I don’t want you to doubt that. But you really hurt Morgan today.” Savannah wanted to say _she hurt me too_ , but Jess had made it clear earlier that her pain inside didn’t matter as much as Morgan’s outside, so she kept her mouth shut.

“You know that, don’t you?” Sam asked.

Savannah nodded, too afraid to talk because she didn’t want to cry anymore.

“Peanut, all you have to do is apologize to Morgan. That’s it. I don’t want to punish you any more than you want it. Please, Peanut, I’m begging you. Apologize to her. I’ll help you with the dishes, then you can come and watch the movie with us.” Sam said.

“No.” Savannah said again. “Not until Morgan tells me she’s sorry too.”

“Daddy, we’re ready!”

            Sam looked in the direction of the living room, where he heard Jess tickling Morgan. Sam turned and pleaded silently with Savannah again. Savannah almost gave in. Sam looked sad, like it was killing him to exclude her. But she had to hold her ground. If she didn’t, nothing would change.

“We’re in the living room if you change your mind.” Sam said.

Savannah nodded.

“Can I have a hug?” Sam asked.

“I have to do the dishes.”

            Savannah saw the look on Sam’s face, and for a moment, she felt happy about it. Rejecting Sam’s request had hurt him, and she couldn’t bring herself to feel bad for it. Sam swallowed and nodded, then turned to go to the living room as Savannah turned to the sink. She turned on the water and started working, sniffing hard to keep back tears. She heard a movie start, though she couldn’t tell exactly which one. She worked steadily until the last dish was done, and when she placed it in the dish drainer, she turned off the water and dried her hands. She didn’t feel like crying anymore. She just felt empty and numb inside. She started to dry the water in and around the sink, when she heard something that broke her heart again.

“I’m gonna get you.”

            Sam was playing tickle monster with Morgan, something he’d done with her when she was the same age. It was too much for Savannah. When Morgan giggled, Savannah threw the dishrag back in the sink and ran up the stairs two at a time, back towards her bedroom. Sam and Jess had, of course, seen her running, and both of them stopped what they were doing. They’d heard her crying, and when she slammed her bedroom door and started sobbing so hard they heard her downstairs, the mood from just a few seconds earlier vanished.

“I can’t keep doing this.” Jess said.

“Me neither.” Sam said. “But what do we do? We can’t just let her off the hook.”

“Let’s both go up and talk to her. Maybe there’s something else going on.” Jess suggested.

“Good idea.” Sam said. He turned to Morgan. “Morgan, did you tell mommy everything about the fight earlier?” “Yes, daddy.”

“You didn’t leave _anything_ out? Nothing at all?” Sam asked.

“No, daddy.” Morgan answered.

“Okay.” Sam said. “Mommy and I are going up to talk to Sissy.”

“Can I keep watching the movie?”

“Sure.” Sam said, giving her a kiss. “Love you, beanie baby.”

“Love you too, honey bunch.”

            Sam laughed, kissed her again, then walked up with Jess to Savannah’s room. Sam grabbed the handle and at first thought it was stuck. He jiggled it a little more, and realized that Savannah had locked it. Sam felt a little annoyed at Savannah breaking another house rule, but when he looked at Jess, he realized they’d earned it. Sam gave up jiggling the handle. He knocked on the door and asked,

“Savannah? Honey, please open the door. Me and mommy want to talk to you.”

“No!” Savannah said, just loud enough for them to hear. “Please just leave me alone.”

“Savannah?” Jess tried. “Baby, please. Please, we just want to talk to you. We’re not mad anymore, honey, I swear we just want to talk. Please open the door.”

“Can I help?”

Sam and Jess jumped at the unexpected voice in the hallway. “Lisa? When did you get here?”

“Just now. Dean’s downstairs watching the movie with Morgan. Savannah called me about an hour ago crying, begging me to come get her.”

“What?” Jess said. “We were eating dinner then.”

“Can I try?” Lisa asked, pointing towards Savannah’s bedroom door. “Be my guest.” Sam said.

Lisa walked to the door and knocked. “Savannah? It’s aunt Lisa. Can I come in?”

“Is it just you?” Savannah asked through the door.

“No. Your parents are out here too.”

“I’ll talk to you. Just you.” Savannah insisted.

Lisa turned to Jess and Sam, who looked pained at her answer. “Why don’t you guys go downstairs? I’ll tell you what she says.”             When she’d sent Jess and Sam downstairs, she’d felt sorry for them. But thirty minutes later, after Savannah had finally gotten the story out, Lisa found herself holding Savannah and wanting to kick both Sam and Jess. Savannah, who felt relieved at finally having someone listen to and believe her, cried until she couldn’t cry anymore. Lisa had done exactly what she’d needed both her parents to do. Listened to her without interrupting, not automatically siding with Morgan, and, most importantly, not making her feel bad for being angry at Morgan. For a few minutes after Savannah stopped crying, Lisa kept holding her, until she felt it was okay to finish their conversation.

“Is there anything else I should know?” Lisa asked.

“No. That’s everything.” Savannah said.

“Okay. Listen up. I know you’re hurting, and I don’t blame you. What Morgan said to you was way out of line, and I’m going to make sure your parents hear _me_ if they’re not going to listen to you.”

“What does it matter?” Savannah asked. “They don’t care about me. They only care about Morgan.” “I know it feels that way. And I see why. But I promise you, that’s not true. They do care about you. They just didn’t show it to you very well today. Don’t worry; I’ll get on them about that too.” Lisa promised.

Savannah sat up and wiped her face again. “Thank you, aunt Lisa.”

“You’re welcome.” Lisa said. “Anytime you need to call me, sweetie, you can. You know that, right?” “I know.” Savannah said.

“Why don’t we go wash your face then go talk to your mom and dad?” When Savannah still seemed nervous, Lisa promised, “If you still want to after we talk to them, you can come home with me and Dean. But you need to talk to them.”

“I’ve been trying to talk to them all day.”

“And I’ll make sure they listen this time. Okay?” Lisa said.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

            When the two of them got back downstairs, Dean held Morgan in his lap, and was playing some sort of game with her. Savannah grabbed Lisa’s hand, still not wanting to get too close to Morgan. Lisa squeezed her hand and winked at her, then put on what Dean called her best ‘mom is ticked off’ voice.

“Morgan? Go to your room. I need to talk to your parents alone.”

Morgan seemed momentarily shocked by being told what to do when her parents were in the room, but she recognized that tone in Lisa’s voice. She jumped off Dean’s lap and went past her sister. Savannah got on the couch next to Dean, who recognized right away something was still very, very wrong. Lisa sat on the other side of Savannah, then turned to the worried Sam and Jess. Lisa began the conversation.

“Savannah’s going to talk. You guys need to _listen_ to her, and not interrupt. She’s going to tell you the whole story about what happened in that fight today. She’s also got a few things to say to the two of you. After we’ve hashed all that out, we _are_ dealing with Morgan’s part in this. Make sense?”

Sam and Jess nodded, and Lisa gave Savannah an encouraging wink. “Go on, baby. Take your time.”

Savannah nodded. She had a hard time looking at her parents, so she held one of Dean’s hands and one of Lisa’s as she talked. A very anxious Sam and Jess waited. They’d thought they knew the story of the fight, but as they were about to discover, they were dead wrong.

“Morgan started begging me to play with her from the minute she got up this morning. I played with her for a while, but I wanted to read that book that Daddy helped me pick out, so I told her I was going outside to play by myself for a while. She followed me out there, and started begging me to play again.”

Jess felt guilt stab her heart as the pieces started to fall into place. Savannah didn’t realize that Jess had sent Morgan out there. In hindsight, Savannah _had_ spent the whole morning with Morgan while Jess was doing chores. Jess appreciated the break, but she hadn’t thought to tell that to Savannah. Maybe the fight could’ve been stopped if she’d just done that. Ask Savannah to play with Morgan for just a few more minutes. Make her feel like she was helping mommy instead of just doing whatever her sister wanted at the expense of herself. She decided not to tell Savannah about that. No need to make her feel even more guilty than she already did.

“I kept telling her no, that I was trying to read, and she said to me ‘Reading’s stupid. Play with me.’ I got irritated, and upset, but I just turned my back to her and told her to leave me alone.” Savannah said. “I was trying not to let her see me cry.”

            It was Sam’s turn to feel guilty. He had mostly been the one to tell Savannah that when Morgan started acting like that, to ignore her. But clearly it bothered Savannah a lot more than he’d originally thought. Maybe if he’d listened to her more before now, Savannah wouldn’t be avoiding the two of them and Morgan wouldn’t be sporting a black eye that he was sure made Dean proud of Savannah.

“Savannah…” Sam started.

“Sam, stop.” Lisa said sharply. “I love the two of you, but you’ve caused enough damage by not listening to her today. Let her finish.”

            Sam’s jaw snapped shut and he stared at Lisa like she was a new person. He looked to Dean, who just shrugged. _I ain’t messing with her, even for you, buddy. Sorry,_ Dean’s expression said to Sam. So Sam waited for Savannah to keep talking, but Sam’s interruption seemed to have shut her down.

“Go on, honey.” Lisa prodded gently.

“She kept calling me names. She wouldn’t stop. I kept telling her to leave me alone. I didn’t shout, I wasn’t mean to her, I just told her she was being to me, and she needed to stop.”

“What names was she calling you?” Lisa asked.

“Stupid. Ugly. Dumb.” Savannah said, wiping her face.

“Is that when you hit her?” Dean asked, speaking up for the first time.

“No. I told her if to stop ‘cause she was hurting me. She said she wasn’t because she wasn’t hitting me. I told her if she didn’t, I would tell mommy and daddy, and they’d make her stop. She said go ahead and tell, because mommy and daddy loved her more than they did me, anyway, so it didn’t matter. _That’s_ when I hit her.”

            Every adult in the room fell into a shocked silence, except for Lisa. The tension could’ve been cut with a knife. Lisa just looked angry and sad. She could hardly believe the two of them had been so dense as to think that Savannah, who couldn’t stand the thought of killing a bug because she didn’t want to hurt it, would hurt Morgan just for calling her a few names. Lisa knew Savannah was bullied at school, so she was used to name calling. She just wanted home to be a place she could be safe from it. Lisa had tried to convince Savannah to tell her parents about the bullying, and she wondered now if Savannah had ever done it. Lisa added that to her mental checklist of things to check on.

            Sam and Jess both felt like they were going to throw up from the guilt. They’d been so concerned with Morgan they hadn’t thought to ask Savannah what had made her lose her temper the way she had. She’d been dealing with Morgan’s words rolling around in her head all day.

“Savannah, baby, that is _not_ true….” Jess finally said.

Just as Lisa was about to scold Jess the same way she had Sam, Savannah gained her courage and stood up to her mother with a fury that no one had dreamed of from her. “Yes, it is! You guys were just as mean to me today as Morgan was! You never would have done to Morgan what you did to me today.” “That’s not true either…” Sam said, though he knew he didn’t have a leg to stand on right now.

“So if Morgan had hit me, you would have taken away whatever toy she was playing with, made her stay in her room away from you all day, shouted at her when she tried to explain, _still_ leave her in her room alone, not come see her when you got home, made her favorite dinner and not let her eat any of it, _then_ make her clean up after you while she could hear you in the living room, laughing and playing with me? You would have done that to Morgan? No, you would have asked her why she did it, made her apologize to me, and probably made me apologize to her for whatever she said I did. Then it would have been over.”

            Having everything they’d done that day listed out that way filled both Jess and Sam with such shame that neither of them could look at Savannah. They hadn’t thought about it, their first mistake. They’d just been hoping to show her that when you hurt someone, you have to stay away from the rest of the family until you make it right. But Savannah wasn’t done throwing daggers at her parents just yet.

“No hitting. No name-calling. No interrupting. Apologize when you’re mean. Be nice.” Savannah said.

Jess and Sam looked up. They couldn’t figure out where Savannah’s list had come from, until they looked at the wall and realized she was reading the list of family rules that had been posted there ages ago.

“I thought those were family rules. But I guess they’re just Savannah rules, huh?” When Dean ran a hand up and down Savannah’s arm in comfort, it was too much; she started crying again. When she got her voice back, she finally explained, “I know hitting Morgan was wrong, and I am sorry. And I don’t mind telling her that. But I just wanted you two to prove her wrong first. But I guess she wasn’t.”

“Peanut…” Sam said, and for the first time all day, there was no trace of anger in his voice. “Peanut, we are so sorry. I know that doesn’t mean a lot right now, but we are.” “Yes, Savannah, we’re sorry. I know we baby Morgan a lot, and I didn’t realize how much it bothered you. I honestly thought she didn’t know better. But I promise, me and daddy are gonna deal with this.” Jess said. “She won’t call you names anymore. Not without consequences.”

“Like what?”

“I have an idea about that.” Dean said. “But I need you guys to trust me.” “Dean, what are you planning to do?” Sam asked.

“Give her a taste of her own medicine.” Dean said. “And her not knowing better? That’s crap, Jess. I’m sorry, but it is. Morgan doesn’t get away with this when the girls stay with us. When she picks on Savannah, she gets one warning, then she has to stay in her room until you two come to get her.”

Jess and Sam looked at each other, and after a brief, silent conversation, nodded in agreement. “Okay, Dean. We trust you.”

“Does that mean you’ll let uncle Dean handle it?” Savannah asked. “And if she does it again, you’ll punish her too?”

“Yes.” Jess and Sam said together.

Jess held out her arms towards Savannah, praying she hadn’t ruined their relationship forever. Savannah got up and walked over, climbing into her mother’s lap. She still didn’t quite trust her parents, but she was so desperate for some sign that they still loved her that she couldn’t resist Jess’s offer. She crawled into her mom’s lap, and felt her dad lay a hand on her back. Savannah turned so that she was facing Lisa and Dean too. She wanted to see what would happen to Morgan. She took Sam’s hand and waited.

“Morgan!” Dean called. “Morgan, get in here now!”

A very nervous Morgan came out of her room. She knew the tone in Dean’s voice. She was in trouble. Big trouble. If it had been her mommy or daddy calling her, she was sure she would have been able to come out with a smile and avoid any serious punishment. But uncle Dean was not moved by her cute smile, so she was a little afraid. Morgan moved slowly towards the couch, where all four adults now looked like they were mad at her. Dean stood up and pointed to the couch.

“Sit down, Morgan. We need to talk.”

“What’s wrong?” Morgan asked. “Why’s Sissy crying?”

“Don’t worry about her right now. You’re the one in trouble.”

“Me? What did I do?” Morgan asked.

“Did you pick out your pajamas, Morgan?” Dean asked.

“Yeah.” Morgan answered. “Why?”

“Because they’re the ugliest ones I’ve ever seen. They look terrible on you.”

Morgan’s mouth dropped open. “Uncle Dean, that’s mean!” “And your brown hair? That’s ugly too.”

“I’m not ugly!” Morgan practically shouted, looking over to her parents for help.

“Can you read yet?” Dean asked.

“No. I haven’t started school yet.” Morgan said. “You know that.”

“I guess that means you’re just too stupid and dumb to read then.”

“Why are you being mean to me?” Morgan said, finally breaking down in tears.

Dean got on his knees in front of Morgan. She wasn’t looking at him, so Dean took her hand and turned her chin so she was looking him in the eye. Morgan was surprised he didn’t look mean anymore, he just seemed sad. Morgan’s bottom lip was shaking. What Dean had said to her hurt her feelings, and she was mad at him.

“Morgan, listen to me. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything I just said to you. You are not dumb, and you are not ugly.”

“Then why’d you say it?” Morgan asked.

“To show you something.” Dean said. He pointed at Morgan’s heart. “It hurts in here when you hear stuff like that, doesn’t it?” Morgan nodded. “That’s exactly what your sister feels like right now. That’s how she feels when you say mean stuff to her like that. Do you understand? Do you get it now why you can’t pick on her so much?”

“Yeah.” Morgan said, still crying.

“Morgan, you know better than to pick on your sister.” Lisa said. “We don’t let you do it when you two stay with us. So why do you do it here?” When Morgan didn’t say anything, Lisa asked, “Is it because mommy and daddy pretty much let you get away with it?”

Morgan nodded.

“Morgan Anna, get over here.” Sam said.

Morgan flinched. She wasn’t used to Daddy being mad at her. But she walked over to Daddy, who kissed Savannah’s hand and grabbed Morgan’s arm, pulling her towards him. Sam stood Morgan in front of him and asked sternly,

“I asked you earlier if there was anything else I needed to know about the fight. Did you lie to me?”

Morgan nodded. “Yes.” “Why?” Sam asked.

“Because I knew I hurt Sissy’s feelings and I didn’t want you mad at me too.”

“So you knew you were hurting your sister’s feelings when you were calling her those names.” Sam said. Morgan nodded, and Sam continued, “So why did you do it?”

“I just wanted her to play with me.” Morgan said.

“Morgan,” Jess said from beside Sam, “you are old enough to play by yourself for a few minutes when everyone else is busy. Your sister played with you this morning. She wanted a little time to herself. There is nothing wrong with that. Now, before she hit you, was she mean to you? Or did she ask you nicely to leave her alone?”

“She was nice to me.” Morgan said.

“So because you didn’t get what you want, you were mean to her.” Jess said. Morgan nodded again. “Morgan, what you said to her was very mean and hurtful. Your daddy and I love you both equally. And if it weren’t for the black eye that your sister gave you, you’d be feeling my hairbrush on your butt right now. Do you understand me?”

Morgan’s eyes grew wide. She tried to back away from them, but Sam didn’t let her. Jess and Sam had only spanked her once that she remembered, when she’d run into the road the year before. They’d spanked her mostly with their hand, which had hurt bad enough, but Jess had ended the spanking with three whacks from the hairbrush, which made her feel like her butt was on fire. She started to beg Jess not to spank her, when Savannah suddenly climbed down off her mom’s lap and surprised everyone when she wrapped arms around her little sister.

“Don’t cry, Morgan. I’m sorry I hurt you earlier. I just need you to stop being mean to me. It hurts me too.” Savannah explained.

“I’m sorry, Sissy. I won’t be mean to you no more.” Morgan promised.

“Morgan?” Lisa said from the couch. Morgan looked over at her aunt, arms still wrapped around Savannah. “I asked Savannah earlier why she didn’t just tease you back when you were mean to her. She said it was because she didn’t want you to feel the way she did. Do you realize how lucky you are? To have a sister that won’t hurt you, even when you hurt her?”

Morgan nodded and squeezed Savannah tighter.

“Savannah, do you still want to go with me and Dean?” Lisa asked.

“No. I’m okay now.” Savannah broke away from a still crying Morgan and walked over to hug Lisa and Dean. “Thank you. Both of you.”

“Anytime, baby. Love you.” Dean said sincerely.

“Love you too.” Savannah said.

            When Dean and Lisa were gone, Savannah turned back to her parents, and there was still an awkward tension in the room. Morgan knew she was in trouble, so she was quiet. Savannah wasn’t sure if they were planning to punish her anymore. Savannah took a good look at Morgan, and decided to give her a break. Even if she didn’t really deserve it. Dean had been harsh with her, and she seemed to have learned her lesson.

“Mommy? Can I ask a favor?”

After the well-deserved verbal lashing she’d just gotten from Savannah, Jess was more than willing to accommodate any request she had. “Sure, baby. What is it?”

“Don’t punish Morgan. Give her another chance. Her last chance, but another chance.”

Savannah’s voice was ringing through Jess’s head. _I thought those were family rules. But I guess they’re just Savannah rules._ Jess firmly said to Morgan,

“Listen to me. The only reason you are not being restricted to your room tomorrow is because your sister asked me to. You are to thank her, and then go straight to bed. No bedtime story tonight. If this happens again, you _will_ get a spanking from me and your father. Do you understand?”

“Yes, mommy.” Morgan said.

“And Morgan? You and I are going to have a long talk. You are not the only member of this family. What you want does not always come first. But we’ll talk more about that tomorrow.” Jess said. “Go to bed. I love you.”

“Love you too, mommy.”

“Love you, Morgan.” Sam said.

Morgan shared a hug with her parents, then turned to her sister. “I’m sorry, Sissy. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Savannah said. “I love you too.” Morgan smiled. “Love you more.”

            When Morgan was finally in bed, Sam and Jess faced Savannah. She was still hurt. She knew Jess and Sam were sorry for how they’d treated her, but she didn’t know if they fully understood how lonely she felt. And they still hadn’t told her whether or not she was still in trouble. So, as Sam took his seat back on the couch after making sure Morgan was really lying down, she decided to ask.

“Am I still in trouble?”

Sam sighed. “No.” he said. He looked to Jess, who silently nodded her agreement. “All of us messed up today. Your mom and me more than you. Is there anything you want us to do?”

Savannah thought about it. “Is there any chili left?”

“Yes.” Jess said. “It probably needs to be warmed up, but I’ll fix you a bowl.”

“Can we watch the movie together now?”

“Sure.” Sam said. “Peanut, we can’t say we’re sorry enough. We weren’t trying to hurt you today.”

“I know, Daddy.” Savannah said. “It’s just hard to talk to you guys sometimes. You don’t let me talk and you talk over me.”

“When that happens,” Jess said, “let me show you what we want you to do. Come here.” Savannah walked over and Jess gently put both hands on either cheek. “You grab my face or your dad’s just like this and you say ‘I need you to listen to me’. As long as you’re doing this, we won’t say a thing.”

“Promise? Both of you?”

“Promise.” Jess and Sam said at the same time.

“Okay.” Savannah said. Her stomach growled a little. “Can I have that chili now?”

“You bet. You want a sandwich too?”

“Grilled cheese?” Savannah asked with a smile.

“My pleasure.” Jess said. “You two start the movie and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

            Thirty minutes later, Sam and Jess sat on the couch, Savannah between them, laughing hard at the movie. Savannah fell asleep, her head in Sam’s lap and her feet in Jess’s. Sam lifted her up and started to take her back to her room. As he opened her bedroom door, Jess grabbed his arm.

“Let’s let her sleep in our bed.”

Sam nodded; he couldn’t agree more. Just as they were all drifting off to sleep, a small knock at their bedroom door. Morgan stood there, teddy bear in her arms, looking small and lonely.

“Morgan, what are you doing? You’re supposed to be asleep.” Sam said.

“Can I sleep with you too?” Morgan asked. “I still feel bad for what I said to Sissy. And for lying to you.”

            They knew they should say no, but neither Jess nor Sam had the heart to do it. Their bed wasn’t that big, and with Savannah in it now, space was at a premium. Morgan waited, and decided she wouldn’t fight them if they said no. She knew Sissy needed them more right then. But Sam turned back to her and said,

“Come on. Very quietly. Don’t wake up your sister.”

            Morgan smiled and climbed up into the bed. Jess situated her in the middle, next to her and Savannah. When everyone was settled down, Jess was on the right side of the bed, Morgan next to her, Savannah next to Morgan, and Sam on the end next to Savannah. Morgan whispered,

“Good night, mommy. Good night, daddy. Love you.” “We love you too. Now go to sleep.” Sam said. He took another look at Savannah. “We love both of you.” With that, he smiled at Jess, and they both fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.            


End file.
